Method of using a wild feature

ABSTRACT

A method, which may be embodied in a gaming machine, that is suitable for carrying out a wild feature in a game. The game in which said feature is carried out has a game structure comprising a plurality of substructures suitable for establishing individual results. Indicia are drawn and used to establish substructure results. Each drawn indicium is further evaluated as being either a regular indicium or one triggering the wild feature. The regular indicia are used while others are kept apart until the wild feature is activated. Upon the wild feature activation, an evaluation of an optimal use of the wild feature in at least one substructure is completed. Finally, the play outcome resulting from this optimal use of the wild feature is awarded.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority under 35USC§119(e) of U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/473,256, filed May 27, 2003, thespecification of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The invention relates to a casino-style gaming machine and amethod of applying special features to the game played on these gamingmachines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The field of casino-style games and gaming machines is inconstant evolution. Players are always demanding new features that mayincite them to play. Such implemented features include multihand pokers,progressive jackpots, multiline slot machine games and mystery prizes. Aproblem the game designers face when developing new features is tomaintain balance between providing appealing prizes, controlling thereturn payout to the player, keeping the game hit rate in an interestingrange, and applying a simple feature that must be easy to understand bythe players.

[0004] Accordingly, improvements in this field are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The invention consists in a method of providing a wild feature ina gaming environment. Moreover, it consists in providing a player with agame structure comprising a plurality of substructures, eachsubstructure being suitable to establish an outcome involving aplurality of game indicia. It further consists in identifying which ofthe drawn indicia triggers the activation of a wild feature. When suchan indicium is drawn, it is not associated with a substructure butplaced aside until a predetermined wild feature application criterion ismet. Upon positive evaluation of this criterion, played substructuresare evaluated with the wild feature to determine the manner in which thewild feature may be optimally used within each substructure, and thewild feature is used accordingly in at least one of the playedsubstructures. Then, the play continues or ends depending on the stateit reached. At the end of said state, the substructures are evaluated toestablish the play outcome.

[0006] Furthermore, the invention consists in a gaming machine suitablefor the application of the above described method. This gaming machineincludes display means presenting a game layout comprising a pluralityof playing substructures characteristic of the game with eachsubstructure being responsible for establishing an individual result.The gaming machine comprises input means for the player to play thegame, and game controller means providing said game to the player.Furthermore, the game controller is adapted to (a) draw indicia to beused in the game; (b) judge the drawn indicia to evaluate their valuesas either regular or special indicia; (c) use the regular indicia toyield a regular outcome; (d) evaluate the activation of the wild featureaccording to its best use; and (e) establish a payout accordingly.

[0007] The invention also consists in codes adapted to control a machinesuch as a computer to complete the present method; the codes are storedon suitable media such as computer readable media, or communicatedthrough an electrical or an electromagnetic carrier signal for instance.

[0008] Accordingly, an aspect of the invention is to provide a featurein a gaming environment creating a positive incentive.

[0009] Thus, an object of the invention is to provide a feature thataddresses this problem while respecting the characteristics of abalanced game: a) a balanced payout, b) an interesting hit rate, and c)appealing prize values.

[0010] Another object is to provide such a feature in a gamingenvironment wherein its advantages may easily be understood andrecognized by the player.

[0011] Another object is to allow this feature to be easily carried outin a plurality of games, for instance bingo and poker games.

[0012] In this specification, the term “wild feature” is intended tomean “any feature with the advantage of having a plurality of potentialvalues or effects”. The terms “structures and substructures” areintended to mean “organizations of elements, with each substructurebeing suitable to be involved in establishing a play result”. The term“indicia” for its part is intended to mean “gaming elements in anysuitable form”.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Further features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description, taken incombination with the appended drawings, in which:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a perspective view of agaming machine suitable for the present invention;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the components of thegaming machine of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a bingo layout with bingoelements simulating the play of a bingo game embodying the feature ofthe present invention;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the steps involved in the playof the bingo game illustrated in FIG. 3;

[0018]FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a poker layout with cardrepresentations simulating the play of a poker game embodying thefeature of the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the steps involved in the playof the poker game illustrated in FIG. 4; and

[0020]FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating some components of thegaming machine of FIG. 2 in a functional manner in order for said gamingmachine to carry out the feature of the present invention.

[0021] It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, likefeatures are identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] The present invention is preferably carried out on a gamingmachine, such as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Gaming machine 10comprises display means 12, such as a video screen, an LCD screen, ormechanical reels; credit-receiving means 14, such as a card reader or acoin and/or bill acceptor; input means, 16 such as buttons, levers, or atouch screen; awarding means 18, such as a ticket printer, a card readeror a hopper; memory means 20; and game controller means 22.Functionality and interaction between components of FIG. 2 will befurther described below.

[0023] The invention may also be applied to a computer program, or to aremote terminal, the game information being distributed through anetwork, such as linked machines or the Internet, or broadcasted usingan electrical or electromagnetic signal.

[0024] To provide a good understanding of the present invention featureand of its application to a gaming environment, two embodiments areprovided: a) a bingo game, and b) a poker game. The two embodiments havethe advantage of illustrating the feature in a different environment(different game) while using the same particularities that arecharacteristic of the invention.

[0025] Bingo Game

[0026]FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic representation of a bingo layout 30and a representation of the bingo game during its play. As can be seen,the game comprises four (4) bingo cards 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, and 32 dbearing numbers. Each of the cards 32 may be individually activated ordeactivated by the player. In FIG. 3, three (3) cards 32 a, 32 b, 32 care activated while the last one is not (illustrated with its numbersreplaced by a logo of the game). Beside the cards 32, balls 34 alsobearing numbers are displayed. To establish a bingo card result, theball numbers are compared with the card numbers, and the matchingnumbers are daubed on the bingo cards 32. At the end of the play, thecard daubing is evaluated as a pattern and compared with a pay schedule36 to determine the play outcome.

[0027] As also illustrated in FIG. 3, special balls 34′ may appear amongthe drawn balls 34. These balls 34′ are used to activate the wildfeature. When such a special ball 34′ is drawn, its action is postponeduntil a predetermined state is reached in the play. In this example, thewild feature is activated only when the draw is complete. At this time,each bingo card 32 is evaluated to determine where on the card a specialdaubing may be used optimally. In consequence, the special daubing maytake different values in the different bingo cards. In this example,using the special daubing in its optimal manner refers to the way thebingo card may have the most value when evaluated.

[0028] Afterwards, the gaming machine establishes on which bingo card(s)32 the special daubing is most effectively used and performs thatdaubing. Then, the cards 32 are evaluated to establish the play outcome.

[0029] In a second version of the above bingo game, the card numbers aredisplayed in three colors: blue, red, and yellow. The special balls 34′also come in different colors: blue, red, yellow, and white. When acolored special ball 34′ is drawn, only a bingo-card number of thecorresponding color may be daubed. However, when a white special ball isdraw, any bingo-card number may be daubed, regardless of its color.Accordingly, wild features having different effects may be activated.

[0030] In another version, the wild feature may necessitate the draw oftwo special balls 34′ to be activated. Therefore, the activation of thewild feature would become less frequent while the anticipation of itsoccurrence would increase.

[0031] In addition, another version may include a counter 36 thattallies the number of activations of the wild feature over a pluralityof plays. When the counter 36 reaches a predetermined value, the playeris awarded a multiplay feature that may take the form of a multipliedpayout of the play outcome when the feature is activated.

[0032] Accordingly, generating a result in the above bingo game may bedescribed through a series of steps. FIG. 4 illustrates these stepsthrough a flow chart. First, cards are activated (step 50). Such a stepmay include the player selecting the bingo-card numbers, a card withpredetermined numbers, a bet level, cards to be activated, etc.Afterwards, the ball draw starts (step 52). Each ball is evaluated (step54) as either a regular or a special ball. If it is a regular ball,matching numbers are daubed on the active bingo cards (step 56). If aspecial ball is drawn, the activation of the wild feature is postponed(step 58). An evaluation of draw completion takes place (step 60) andthe draw continues (return step 52) until its completion. At this time,if a special ball has been drawn, the wild feature is activated.Alternatively, the play process skips directly to the evaluation of thefeature activation (step 62). If the wild feature is activated, thegaming machine evaluates the feature optimal use for each card,establishes on which card(s) the feature will be applied, and completesthe daubing on the cards (step 64). A standard way is to apply the wildfeature on a number of randomly selected cards corresponding to thenumber of active cards in the play, regardless of the activity status ofthe card receiving the special daubing. It results in an incentive toactivate the maximum number of cards. Then, each active card isevaluated to establish its result. The player is rewarded with the sumof the evaluated results: the play outcome (step 66).

[0033] An available variation of the above described game is to evaluatewhen a special ball is drawn and to determine its use according to thisevaluation. For instance, in a bingo game wherein forty (40) balls aredrawn, the threshold establishing the manner in which the wild featureis used may be that the special ball must be drawn within the firstthirty (30) balls. Within the first thirty (30) balls drawn, the featureis used as described above. Within the last ten (10) balls drawn, theplayer has to decide which card(s) and card number(s) will receive thespecial daubing.

[0034] Poker

[0035]FIG. 5 illustrates a layout 70 and a poker game suitable for theinvention. Characteristics of the poker game include the playerreceiving three (3) hands of poker 72 a, 72 b, 72 c, each one associatedwith a bet 74 a, 74 b, 74 c. The pay schedule 76 associated with thegame includes a first pay subschedule 78 a associated with the firsthand, and a second pay subschedule 78 b associated with the second andthe third poker hands. During the play, if a wild card 80 is drawn, itis placed beside the hand. Once the wild feature is activated, thesecond and third pay schedules may be potentially affected with amultiplier feature depending partially on the result of the precedinghand. Accordingly, when the wild feature is deactivated, the poker hands72 a, 72 b, 72 c are individually evaluated according to theirrespective pay schedule 78. When the wild feature is activated, thepoker hands may be evaluated individually or the hands 72 a, 72 b, 72 cmay be evaluated in combination depending on the optimal result for theplayer. In this example, when the wild feature is activated and thehands 72 a, 72 b, 72 c are evaluated together, the player is awarded thefirst-hand regular payout, twice the second-hand 72 b regular payout ifthe first hand 72 a is at least equal in value tc a “three of a kind” inits ranking evaluation, and eight (8) times the third-hand 72 c payoutif the first hand 72 a and the second hand 72 b are both at least equalin value to a “three of a kind” in their respective ranking evaluation.However, if the preceding hand criterion is not fulfilled, the currenthand has no value even if it is a winning hand.

[0036] The play of this game follows the subsequent steps. The playerplaces the bets, a hand bet being always of less value than thepreceding hand bet value. The player receives third hand initial cards;he or she holds cards and the discarded cards are transferred to thepreceding hand. Positions of the discarded cards receive new cards. If awild-feature triggering card is drawn during the process, the card isplaced aside (such as a community card); the wild feature activation ispostponed. For the second hand, cards are drawn to complete the handalready composed of discarded third-hand cards. Once again, the playerselects cards to be held, the others being moved to the first hand. Thesecond hand is completed. The initial first hand is completed the sameway: the player selects cards to be held and discards the other ones,and the final first hand is completed with last drawn cards.

[0037] If no wild feature is activated, the three poker hands areindividually evaluated, a payout is established for each of them, andthe player is rewarded with the sum of these payouts.

[0038] However, if the wild feature is triggered, the card placed asidemay be used as a community wild card for the three poker hands if theyare evaluated in combination (multiplier feature), or as a single pokerhand wild card affecting only the hand played when it was drawn. Each ofthe hands is evaluated on the basis of the multiplier feature toestablish a multiplier-feature payout. Another evaluation is made whenthe wild card is effective only in one hand and the hands areindividually evaluated, after which their payouts are summed up. Themultiplier-feature and the individual-evaluation payouts are comparedand the player is rewarded with the most valuable one.

[0039] Through a flow chart, illustrated in FIG. 6, the play processcomprises the following steps. Bets are placed (step 90). Cards aredrawn (step 92) and evaluated (step 94) to determine if they activatethe wild feature. If the evaluation is negative, the card takes itsplace in the hand. Otherwise, the card is placed aside (step 96). Theplayer selects cards to be held (steps 98 to 102). The hand is completedwith correct use of discarded cards. Evaluation of the play completionis done (step 106), resulting in either the play switching to thepreceding hand (step 108) or the evaluation of the wild feature (step110). The preceding steps (steps 92 to 108) are repeated for the secondand first hands. If there is no wild feature waiting to be activated(step 110), the process skips directly to the hand evaluation (step112), followed by the player being rewarded (step 114). If a wildfeature is activated, determination of the best use of the wild feature(individual-evaluation or multiplier-feature payout) is completed (steps116 to 120), and the player is rewarded according to the best use (step112).

[0040] A variation of the above described poker game is to allow theplayer to establish, through his bet strategy, the number of hands hewants to play (for instance with the same limitation of having a handbet value lower than the preceding hand bet value). Therefore, theplayer could decide the number of hands he wants to play (up to 5 handsin the preferred embodiment), with the multiplier feature becomingincreasingly interesting as the number of hands increases.

[0041] Gaming Machine

[0042] While the wild feature has been described above through games,some specifications of a gaming machine 10 suitable to carry out thefeature of the invention may be represented through the block diagram ofFIG. 7. In a gaming machine 10, a display means 12 is characterized byits ability to provide a game layout in a game structure comprising aplurality of substructures with each substructure being suitable togenerate individual results. Game controller means 22 is adapted toperform functional operations on the basis of a program stored in memorymeans 20, these functions being (a) a storage function 122 controllingthe storing of indicia in storage means 20, (b) a drawing function 124determining indicia taking part in the game, (c) a judging function 126evaluating the drawn indicia to determine the category to which theypertain: regular or wild triggering indicia, (d) a feature-applicationfunction 128 evaluating the wild-feature activation, using the wildfeature when activated and establishing which use offers the bestresult, and (e) an outcome-evaluation function 130 establishing the playoutcome. Awarding means 18 may reward the player with the play outcomein a suitable form at the end.

[0043] While illustrated in the block diagrams as groups of discretecomponents communicating with each other through distinct data signalconnections, it will be understood, by those skilled in the art, thatthe preferred embodiments are provided by a combination of hardware andsoftware components, with some components being implemented by a givenfunction or operation of a hardware or software system, and many of thedata paths illustrated being implemented by data communication within acomputer application or operating system. The structure illustrated isthus provided to better explain the preferred embodiment.

[0044] It should be noted that the present invention can be carried outas a method, or be embodied in a system, a computer readable medium, oran electrical or electromagnetic signal.

[0045] The embodiments of the invention described above are onlyintended to serve as examples. The scope of the invention is thereforeintended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A method of playing a game to its outcome that involvesactivation of a wild feature, comprising: providing a player with a gamestructure composed of a plurality of substructures, each of saidsubstructures being suitable to establish an individual result involvinga plurality of indicia; drawing indicia; evaluating each drawn indiciumas at least one of a regular indicium and a special indicium; andevaluating the activation of the wild feature shared by thesubstructures on the basis of said drawn special indicia to establish afeatured outcome, which involves the evaluation of an optimal use of thewild feature in at least one of said substructures.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: associating comparison indicia with eachsaid substructure; comparing the drawn indicia with the substructurecomparison indicia to establish matches between the indicia; marking thematches in said substructures; and evaluating the markings in saidsubstructures according to a predetermined pattern to establish theoutcomes.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying acharacteristic of a drawn special indicium to establish a characteristicof said wild feature.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprisingtallying drawn special indicia up to a predetermined number to activatethe wild feature.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said special indiciashare a common characteristic.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: counting wild-feature activations over a plurality of playsof said game; and generating a special feature when said countingreaches a threshold.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisingawarding the player of said game with a prize according to said featuredoutcome.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wild feature involves theselection of an outcome evaluation mode.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein said indicia are one of cards, numbers, balls, dice results, andsymbols.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said game is one of poker,bingo, lotto, and line game.
 11. The method of claim 1 that isautomatically performed on an electronic gaming machine.
 12. A gamingmachine for playing a game to its outcome wherein the playing of saidgame involves activation of a wild feature, comprising: a displayproviding a game representation in a game structure composed of aplurality of substructures that are suitable to establish individualresults with each said substructure involving a plurality of indicia;input means receiving commands from the player; and game controllermeans signaling the display to provide a representation of the gameaccording to the received commands and the playing of the game, whereinsaid game controller is adapted: (a) to draw indicia; (b) to judge eachdrawn indicium as at least one of a regular indicium and a specialindicium; (c) to evaluate the activation of a wild feature shared by thesubstructures on the basis of drawn special indicia to establish afeatured outcome, which involves the evaluation of an optimal use of thewild feature in at least one of said substructures.
 13. The gamingmachine of claim 12, further comprising awarding means rewarding theplayer with said featured outcome in a suitable format.
 14. A computerprogram embodied in an electrical or an electromechanical carrier signalhaving codes adapted: to provide a player with a game structure composedof a plurality of substructures, each of said substructures beingsuitable to establish an individual result involving a plurality ofindicia; to draw indicia; to evaluate each drawn indicium as at leastone of a regular indicium and a special indicium; and to evaluateactivation of the wild feature shared by the substructures on the basisof drawn special indicia to establish a featured outcome, which involvesthe evaluation of an optimal use of the wild feature in at least one ofsaid substructures.
 15. A computer program embodied on a computerreadable medium having codes adapted: to provide a player with a gamestructure composed of a plurality of substructures, each of saidsubstructures being suitable to establish an individual result involvinga plurality of indicia; to draw indicia; to evaluate each drawn indiciumas at least one of a regular indicium and a special indicium; and toevaluate activation of the wild feature shared by the substructures onthe basis of drawn special indicia to establish a featured outcome,which involves the evaluation of an optimal use of the wild feature inat least one of said substructures.